Art Trap Productions

A communication cover-up, but why?

19 minutes 10 seconds into Part Two of The Mysterious Planet we see the service robot make its way through a corridor in Marb Station as it searches for the Doctor. We then see (and hear) Merdeen giving orders to his guards after which Balazar and Merdeen walk away in the opposite direction and as they walk both are observed by Grell. Merdeen stops, covers the microphone on his helmet and then has a brief conversation with Balazar. At the conclusion of their conversation Grell watches Merdeen and Balazar leave. Back on the surface of Ravalox Peri leads Glitz as the two run through the trees. We then witness Dibber drop a bomb at the base of the light converter and then run and dive into a ditch. There's an explosion and the converter topples over. Meanwhile, back in Drathro's castle some electrical discharges are dancing between a wall panel and a piece of equipment as Drathro sways and has difficulty speaking. Back to the surface of Ravalox where we see Broken Tooth pick up the fugitive's trail in the leaf litter. Then, just shy of the 21 minute mark we return to Marb Station to see the Doctor run into Merdeen and Balazar EXCEPT this time Merdeen makes no effort to cover the microphone on his helmet and instead speaks freely of the very treason he was attempting to hide not 2 minutes prior.

7 scenes in 2 minutes is no mean feat for Doctor Who. You can probably watch them in less time than it takes to read about them. But can you understand or explain Merdeen's behavior? I sure can't.